Leather-washing machine.



Patented (let. I, I901.

No. 683,586. I

E. C. AMIDUN.

LEATHER WASHING MACHINE.

(Application filed Oct. 9, 1900.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-sheaf lflfrfzzassas K 1 fzzrzzz/zr 2 2 8 42 .147772'53071 m: mums nrrzns co. r norau'rnn. wmmo'ron. n a

No. 683,586. Patented flct. I, l90l. E. c. AMIDDN.

LEATHER WASHING MACHINE.

(Application filed Oct. 9, 1900.)

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 m: "cams p azas 0., monxmnu WASHINGTON, u. c.

' No. 683,586. Patented Oct. 1, 19m.

E. c. AMIDON. LEATHER WASHING MACHINE.

(Application filed Oct. 9, 1900.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3,

(No now.)

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No. 683,586. Patented Oct. I, |90l.- E 6. AMIDON. LEATHER WASHING MACHINE.

(Apphcat n fll 6.0 t 9 1900) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT @FFIQE.

EUGENE O. AMIDON, OF COREY, PENNSYLVANIA.

LEATHER-WASHING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 683,586, dated October 1, 1901. Application filed October 9,1900. Serial No. 32,476. (No model.)

To all 1071,0172, it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, EUGENE C. AMIDON, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Corry,

in the county of Erie and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Leather-\Vashing Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates toleather-washing machines; and it consists, substantially, in the improvementsin the construction of the rotating brush-cylinders and in the mechanism for feeding the leather between the brush-cylinders, whereby the leather is gradually fed between the cylinders at such speed and in such a manner that both sides of the entire side of leather can be finished at one operation and automatically released justas the last portion thereof is passing between the cylinders,and simultaneously with the releasing of the mechanism the feed mechanism is automatically reversed and moved back,read y to clamp another side of leather.

The objects of my improvements are: First, I am enabled by means of myimproved construction of the brush-cylinders to use more brush-sections in the cylinder, and thereby increase the effective brush-surface operating upon the leather, and at the same time can remove defective or worn brush-sections from the cylinders and replace them quickly when necessary. Second,by means of my improved feed mechanism I dispense with feed-rollers, which not only operate injuriously upon the leather being washed, but make it necessary to repeat the washing operation upon each side of leather beforeit is completed. In my construction the feed mechanism feeds the side of leather clear up the brush-cylinders, the adjacent peripheries of which travel in the same direction,and automatically releases it just as the last portion thereof is passing between the cylinders, and simultaneously therewith reverses and moves back to its normal position, where it stops until another side of leather is clamped therein and it is again started by the operator,whereby I am enabled to largely increase the speed with which sides of leather can be washed. These and other features of my invention are hereinafter set forth and described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view in elevation of my im proved leather-washing machine with parts thereof broken away and in section. Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of the same with parts thereof broken away. of sections of the cylinders, water-pipes, and feedtable of same. Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the table and carrier mechanism and of the starting and stopping mechanism thereof. Fig. 5 is a side View of the same, partly in elevation and partly in section.

Fig. 3 is a detail view In the drawings thus illustrating my iuvention, A is the frame of the machine, A the base thereof, and A the shell inclosing the brush-cylinder mechanism. In bearings in the lower part of the frame A there is a brush-cylinder B, mounted on a shaft 1), which is driven by means of a gear-wheel thereon (not shown) which intermeshes with a gearwheel B at the rear of the frame, to which gear-wheel B tight and loose pulleys O O are secured, upon which a motor-belt operates in the usual manner. Mountedin bearings act at the rear of the upper part of the frame A there is a yoke D D D, the arms D D whereof project forward over the frame A and are provided with bearings d 61 directly over the shaft of thebrush-cylinder B, in which bearings the shaft of the upper brush-cylinder E is mounted, and in front of the bearings there are projections d d on the yoke-arms, through which rods F extend down to the frame. These rods are provided with spiral springs ff and adjusting-nuts f f between which springs the forward ends of the yoke-arms-D D, together with the cylinder E, mounted thereon, are yieldingly supported, so that as different thicknesses of leatherpass between the brushcylinders B and E the brush-cylinder E adj usts itself thereto, and this mechanism also providesineans whereby the distance between the brush-cylinders E- B can be adjusted to take up the wear of the brushes therein when desired. The brush-cylinder E is driven by means of a gear-wheel G, which is mounted too on the axis D of the yoke and intermeshes with the gear-wheel B and also with the gearwheel E on the shaft 0 of the brush-cylinder E. These brush-cylinders B and E are constructed with removable brush-sections consisting of U-shaped metalshells 2, having the brush fiber 3 secured therein by means of strips of metal or wood 4, secured in place by bolts 5, as illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, and 5. In preparing these brush-sections for, use the brush fiber 3 is cut of suitable length so that the central portions thereof can be pressed down into the shells 2 by means of the strips 4, as illustrated in Fig. 3, after which the strips 4 are secured therein by means of the bolts 5.

The shells 2 fit into U-shaped slots 6, formed in-the periphery of the disks 7, which form the ends of the brush-cylinders, in which slots the shells 2 are secured by lags of wood 8, which engage the projecting flanges 9 on the shells 2 and hold them in place, the lags 8 being secured to the disks 7 by means of bolts 10 passing through projecting lugs 11 on the faces of the disks 7. The lags 8, it will be observed, have their edges 12 rounded, so as to form bearing-surfaces for the brush fiber 3 and prevent its breaking at the point where it leaves the shell 2. By means of this construction Iam enabled to use many more brush-sections in the cylinders than has been possible as brush-cylinders have been heretofore constructed and at the same time am enabled to remove and replace worn or defective brush-sections quickly when desired.

On the shaft 1) of the brush-cylinder B there is a gear-wheel H and also a small frictionpulley 72, (shown partially in full lines and partially in dotted lines in Fig. 1,) and on a stud '5 on the frame A, above the gear-wheel H, there is a gear-wheel I, which intermeshes with the gear-wheel H, and secured to the gear-wheel I by means of a sleeve t" there is a friction-pulley I, and on a lever J, centrally mounted on a stud J on the frame A, there is a friction-pulley J mounted on a studj on the rear end of said lever J and adapted to move by means of said lever alternately into contact with the friction-pulleys 7t and I, as desired, and secured to the side of the friction-pulley J there is a gear-pinion J which intermeshes with and drives a gear-wheel K, which is mounted on a transverse shaft K, mounted in bearings a a on the front of the machine-frame A, so that by raising the front end of the lever J the friction-pulley J is brought into contact with the friction-pulley it on the shaft 6, which operates to rotate the wheel K and shaft K in one direction, while by pressing down the front end of the lever J the friction-pulley J is brought into contact with the friction-pulley I, which operates to rotate the wheel K and the shaft K in the reverse direction; but if the lever J is held in such position that the friction-pulley J does not contact with either of the friction-pulleys h or I the wheel K on the shaft K will stand still. For

operating the lever J, I mount a rock-shaft L on the front of the base A of the frame, from which rock-shaft controlling-levers L extend upward vertically, and on the end of the rockshaft L there is a horizontal arm L which extends rearwardly under the front end of the lever J, and pivoted to the end of the arm L there is a vertical rod Z, which extends upward through an opening in the front end of the lever J and is provided with spiral springs l and Z and adjusting nuts Z and Z by means whereof a yielding pressure can be brought upon the lever J, so as to bring the friction-pulleys into better contact, and by means of the nuts Z and Z the tension of the springs Z and Z can be adjusted, as desired.

To the front of the machine there is secured a table M, substantially'on a plane with the meeting points of the peripheries of thebrushcylinders 13 and E and of suitable length and wid th to receive a side of leather to be washed. This table M is provided with a central longitudinal slot 171 and at its outer end with a loose sprocket-wl1eel m, mounted in suitable bearings, and the shaft K, under the end of the table M next to the machine, is also provided with a sprocket-wheel 7;, which operates to drive a sprocket-chain N, mounted thereon and on the sprocket-wheel m. To this sprocket-chain is secured the rear end of a clamp consisting of a plate 0, adapted to move longitudinally over the groove m in the table-top and form the lower jaw of the clamp. On this plate are ears 0, in which is pivoted the upper jaw Oof the clamp. In the rear end of the jaw 0 there is pivoted a lever 0', the lower end of which is adapted to contact with the top of the plate 0, forming the lower jaw of the clamp, when the lever 0 is in an upright position, as shown in Fig. 1, and retain the jaws of the clamp in a closed posi tion; but when the upper portion of the lever 0 is thrown back the jaws of the clamp open,which operation is automatically accomplished by the upper portion of the lever 0 coming into contact with the front of the case A inclosing the brush-cylinders B and E. (See Fig. 3.) Projecting downward from the under surface of the table M, at each side of the groove m therein, there are U-shaped supports 19, upon which a longitudinal strip of wood P rests and is adapted to slide longitudinally directly under the sprocket-chain N, and supported by the same supports P under the strip P there is a rod Q,which has an upwardly-projecting jaw g on its rear end, which projects up through a slot 19 in the strip P and embraces the sprocket-chain N, and on the chain N there is a knob n, adapted to contact with the jaw g on the rod and first move the rod longitudinally outwardly the length of the slot 19 and then move the strip P in unison therewith, and on the upper surface of the strip 1?, near the front of the machine, there is secured a jawp, adapted to engage the knob n on the sprocketchain during its reverse movement and move ceases the strip P and the rod Q back to their normal positions.

On the front of the machine, under the table M and strip P, there is a lever R, centrally pivoted at r to the front of the frame of the machine. One end of the lever R is pivoted to the end of the strip P and the other is connected with the controlling-lever L on the rock-shaft L by means of a link 1", and on the lever R is mounted a latch S, adapted to engage notches t t on the arm T, secured to the frame of the machine, which operates, when the latch S is in the notch 25, to hold the friction-pulley J 2 in contact with the friction-pulley it, so as to feed the leather .into the machine, and when in the notch 25 the friction-pulley J is held out of contact with both of the friction-pulleys h and I, so that the feed mechanism is stationary, and when the latch S is thrown inward beyond the notch t it operates to bring the frictionpulley J into contact with the friction-pulley I, which reverses the travel of the feed mechanism, so as to move the clamp mechanism O and 0 back, ready to receive another side. of leather.

Upon the lever R there is pivoted a bellcrank lever V, one arm of which is pivoted to the rod Q and the other to the end of the latch S, so that when the knob 72 on the sprocket-chain N strikes the jaw g on said rod during the feeding of the leather into the machine it operates, through the rod Q, to withdraw the latch S from the feed-notch t, and then, operating on the strip 19, it moves the lever R and the latch S past both notches and reverses the travel of the sprocket-chain N, and when the knob 12 in its reverse movement strikes the jaw 12 on the opposite end of the strip P it operates to move the lever R back until the latch S engages the notch 15, which operates upon the friction-pulleys to move themout of contact and stop the movement of the feed mechanism. This reversing of the movement of the feed mechanism is automatically accomplished by means of a lever W, pivoted to the base A of the frame and coupled to an arm L on the rockshaft L, which lever is provided with a weight W, which when thelatch S is withdrawn from the notch 2. falls and throws the mechanism quickly into position to reverse the operation of the feed mechanism when it has traveled in the reverse direction of its traverse until the knob 02 engages the jaw 19 on the strip P and through the lever mechanism connected therewith moves the latch S back into the notch t, which operates to stop the travel of the feed mechanism in either direction. To start the feed mechanism forward again, the operator grasps one of the upright levers L and the auxiliary lever Y, connected therewith, and through the rod X and lever R withdraws the latch S from the notch t and moves it back until it engages the notch 15, which operates through the rock-shaft L, the arm L thereon, and the lever \Vtoagain raise the weight W", and the feed mechanism again starts forward, as before; Upon the lever R there is also another lever R pivoted, one end of which is pivoted to the latch S and the other to a rod X, which connects with auxiliary levers Y, mounted on the controlling-levers L, whereby the operator of the machine can withdraw the catch S from the notch t before moving the controllinglever back to start the feed mechanism forward.

For supplying water to both sides of the side of leather to be washed I provide transverse pipes Z Z, (see Fig. 3,) provided with small holes, through which water is forced under pressure against both sides of the leather just before it passes through between the brush-cylinders B and E.

In operation a side of leather is placed upon the table M, and the outer end of it is secured between the jaws of the clamp O O. The operator then grasps the operating-lever L and the auxiliary lever Y and, withdrawing the latch S from the notch t, moves the lever back until the latch s engages with the notch t. The feed mechanism then operates to feed the leather into the machine until the lever 0 of the clamp O O strikes the front of the case A which operates to release the leather from the clamp, and simultaneously therewith the knob 12 on the sprocket-chain strikes the jaw q on the rod Q and withdraws the latch S from the notch t and allows the weight W and lover Wto fall and automatically operates to move the mechanism into position to reverse the movement of the feed mechanism and run it back until the knob 11 strikes the jaw 19 on the strip P and moves the latch S back into the notch t, so as to stop the backward traverse of the feed mechanism, when it remains at rest until the operator again starts it forward'by means of the controlling-lever.

I have thus described a convenient mechanism embodying my invention and also its operation in such a manner as to enable others to construct and utilize the same; but I am aware that many features thereof can be modified in construction without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore I do vnot desire to confine myself to the exact construction shown and described, as

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a leather-washing machine, the com bination of a brush-cylinder mounted on the machine-frame, a yoke having shaft-bearings on the arms thereof, another brush-cylinder mounted in the bearings on the yoke-arms so that its periphery will be adjacent to the periphery of the first-named brush-cylinder,

mechanism for adjusting said yoke-arms toward and away from said first-named brushcylinder, spring mechanism acting on said yoke-arms and operating as a yielding hearing therefor in both directions of their move ment at all points of their adjustment, and

gear mechanism for actuating the adjacent peripheries of said brush-cylinders in the same direction and at substantially the same speed, substantially as set forth.

2. In a leather-washing machine, the combination of two brush-cylinders, one of which is mounted upon yielding bearings,with feed mechanism comprising substantially, atable, clamp mechanism traveling forward and back thereon and adapted to automatically release a side of leather at the end of its forward traverse and reverse its movement and return to a stationary position, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination in a leather-washing machine, of a lower brush-cylinder mounted in stationary hearings in the machine-frame, an upper brush-cylinder mounted in yielding bearings, and adapted to be adjusted toward and'from the lower brush-cylinder, a feed-' table, a sprocket-chain carrying clamp mechanism, said chain operating in a longitudinal groove in said table, gear and friction-pulley mechanism for driving said sprocket-chain, lever mechanism for starting and reversing the direction of the traverse of said sprocketchain, and mechanism adapted to be actuated by said sprocket-chain to reverse its travel, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination in a leather-washing machine, of a mechanism for feeding sides of leather to the brush-cylinders, comprising substantially, a gear-wheel and a frictionpulley on the shaft of one of the brush-cylinders, a second gear-wheel intermeshing with the first-named gear-wheel and carrying a friction-pulley, a lever carrying a frictionpulley adapted to be moved by said lever'into contact with either of the first-named frictionpulleys, a spur-pinion driven by the frictionpulley mounted on said lever and intermeshing with a gear-wheel driving a shaft carrying a sprocket-chain to which a leather-clamp is secured, means for automatically releasing the leather-clamp from a side of leather, and means actuated by the sprocket-chain for reversing its traverse approximatelyat the same instant the clamp releases the leather, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In the feed mechanism of a leather-washing machine, the combination of a gear-wheel H carrying a friction-pulley h, a gear-wheel I intermeshing with the gear-wheel H and carrying a friction-pulley I, a lever J carrying a friction-pulley J and agear-wheel J intermeshing with a gear-wheel K, on a shaft K, a rock-shaft L connected with the lever J by means of an arm L and, a rod 1, a controlling and starting lever on said rock-shaft, a sprocket-wheel 7: on the shaft K carrying asprocket-chain N in a groove in the feedtabie M,clamp mechanism 00 carried by said sprocket-chain, a sliding-piece P under said sprocket-chain and adapted to be actuated thereby, a lever B pivoted to said sliding piece P, and a rod Q under the sliding piece P having a jaw thereon adapted to be engaged by a knob n on the sprocket-chain, a bell-crank lever pivoted on the lever Band to said rod and also to a latch S, and a notched bar T on the machine-frame adapted to be engaged by the latch S, and lever and weight mechanism adapted to move the rock-shaft L so as to reverse the feed mechanism when the latch S is withdrawn by the action of the sprocket-chain upon the rod Q, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. 1

EUGENE C. AMIDON.

Witnesses:

F. A. LOVELAND, EDGAR JONES. 

